192 FROM THE ART OF BUILDING TO THE ART OF THINKING
version (1687),* the four manuscripts from the old Lodge of Dumfries
(1675-1710),^10 and again, the Melrose Manuscript (1674).
The Legendary History of FreemasonryAll the ancient charters, despite their various distinguishing features,
follow the same general outline. They open with an invocation to the
Trinity and more or less continue as follows: "Good Breathren and
Fellows, our purpose is to tell you how and in what manner this wor-
thy craft of masonry was first begun." A memorandum declaring that
geometry is the oldest of the sciences and the greatest of the seven lib-
eral arts follows this. These are the essential points it covers:^11 After the
Flood, Hermes found one of two pillars+ in which the scriptures con-
taining all the sciences had been hidden. He absorbed all the knowledge
that he rediscovered, taught it to humanity, and became the father of all
sages.
The legend goes on to state that Nimrod (or Nimroth), king of
Babylon, provided his masons with a "rule" stating that they should be
loyal to each other and love each other. It is said that he also gave them
two other rules concerning their science, though it is not known what
these were.
The next major figure in the narrative was Abraham. He left his
native region on the Euphrates River for Egypt, where he taught the
Egyptians the seven sciences. One of his students was Euclid. During
this time, the nobility were giving birth to so many children that they
were at a loss as to how to find uses for all of them. It was Euclid who,
with the king's permission, taught the noble children geometry (and it
was during this era that this science was given its name) and then saw
to it that they built temples, churches, and castles. Euclid also granted
his masons a charge or license stating a number of directives, among
* In a history of Staffordshire published in 1686, Dr. Plott included a history of the
freemasons. The legendary story he recounts is clearly based on a version of the ancient
charters that closely corresponds to William Watson's document, which is written in the
style of English that was commonly used at the end + of the fifteenth century.
According to the Cooke Manuscript, Pythagoras found the second pillar after the
Flood.